The Long Thirsty Rayalaseema Region Is Finally Receiving Water
Project to irrigate 6 lakh acres, provide safe drinking water across region
Anantapur: The decades-long plan of providing water to tail-end irrigation tanks in the drought-hit Rayalaseema region through Handri Neeva Sujala Sravanthi (HNSS) project is finally turning into a reality. In the process, safe drinking water is also reaching the people of the region.
This has mainly become possible due to the successful widening of the Handri Neeva Sujala Sravanthi main canal and lifting of water to a height of 1,649 feet above the mean sea level.
Krishna water has been released through the HNSS main canal towards Kuppam, the home turf of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, as part of Phase-II of the project. The water reached the Kuppam branch canal via the Kadiri area of Satya Sai district.
Further, branch canals involving Madakasira, Gollapalli Reservoir and Marala Reservoir will fill the dependent irrigation tanks and summer storage tanks in most parts of Kurnool, Anantapur, Satya Sai and Chittoor districts in the present season itself.
HNSS officials told Deccan Chronicle that apart from the widened HNSS main canal, Tungabhadra (TB) water through the High Level Main Canal is an additional source of water. Both Krishna and TB waters mix at the PABR project in the Uravakonda area before serving the drinking water needs of both Anantapur and Satya Sai districts.
Significantly, more than 400 irrigation tanks in 19 assembly constituencies of Rayalaseema region will get around 13 TMC feet of water.
Once the entire project is complete, HNSS will irrigate more than 6 lakh acres in the drought-hit Rayalaseema region, apart from providing safe drinking water to areas en route.
However, branch canals in areas like Madakasira, Hindupur and Penukonda are yet to receive water for filling up the tanks in the respective regions. This is because officials have focused on the branch canal of Kuppam, which CM Chandrababu Naidu will visit on Saturday.
Sources said about 66 tanks are expected to be filled with water in the Kuppam assembly segment alone.
